Independent Snacking

Once upon a time, every time Alyssa wanted to eat a pickle, she’d ask either me or Tom for permission.

Several years ago, I told her that she didn’t have to ask any more. If she wanted a pickle, she could get a pickle.

The ‘ask before you eat’ rule was/is Tom’s. I honestly don’t care if the girls get a snack. I mean, okay. I’d rather they not eat a bag of chips in one sitting or grab an oatmeal crème pie as I’m putting dinner on the table, but within reason, please, help yourself to whatever is in the refrigerator or pantry.

Tom seems to think that since they’re children, they can’t be trusted to know when they’re hungry vs bored.

Hell, I’m almost fifty years old and I can’t be trusted to know the difference between hunger vs boredom.

Anyway, the first time Lyss got a pickle without asking her dad asked her if she’d asked me first.

She looked at me, I nodded and she said she had. Later that same day I told her that from that point forward, she had blanket pickle permission. She could go with assurance that I would ALWAYS say yes if she asked for a pickle and so, she could tell her dad, without lying, that she’d asked me about the damned pickle. Because she had, that very night, and I was giving her permission for all the future pickles ever to be eaten.

Is that teaching her to lie to her dad? Ehh, it’s a pickle.

These days, though, I’m ready for Olivia to be able to get her own snacks.

Over the weekend right after her oral surgery, she asked for a snack every fifteen minutes. It was insane. She ate and ate and ate and she asked me every single time she wanted a snack.

And guess what? Because she’s been trained to ask for the stupid snack, she also expects the person she’s asking for the snack to GET her the snack. So I spent the weekend serving her majesty snacks.

I’m ready for her to gain a little independence by getting off her butt and getting her own snacks. I don’t want her to go crazy and eat an entire package of Oreos so maybe we’ll start small.

Going forward, when she asks for a snack, I’ll check the time, see if it’s close to a meal, if not, tell her she can get herself a snack. And when she does, for a while, I’ll check the snack to ensure appropriate serving size.

It’ll be a learning experience for her. And it’ll be freeing for me. Win/win, right?